Wilkes-Barre’s Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen play the blues in Jim Thorpe on Jan. 13
From a press release:
Wilkes-Barre blues rockers Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen will return to the Mauch Chunk Opera House in Jim Thorpe on Saturday, Jan. 13 with special guest Ed Randazzo, a roots rock singer from Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 8 p.m.
Tickets, which are $18, can be purchased on the Opera House website, by calling 570-325-0249, and by visiting SoundCheck Records (23 Broadway, Jim Thorpe) or calling them at 570-325-4009. The facility (14 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe) is open from noon-5 p.m. on show days, and tickets are available for most shows at the door at showtime. Parking is available and free after 5 p.m. at the Carbon County lot behind the train station.
Capturing the vibe of late 1960s and ’70s blues-laced rock ‘n’ roll, Wilkes-Barre’s premier power blues rock trio Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen mix retro-style and groove a-la the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Led Zeppelin, and The Black Crowes for a lightning-charged vintage style all their own.
Led by the transcendent lead guitarist/singer/songwriter Dustin Douglas (Lemongelli, The Badlees), the Electric Gentlemen – drummer Tommy Smallcomb and bassist Matt “The Dane” Gabriel – leave even the most discerning music fans with little left to ask for at the end of any live show.
Since the time he learned to walk, Dustin Douglas (born Dustin Drevitch) has had a guitar in his hands and a song in is his soul. Performing his first show at the age of 13, he has never stopped, first gaining popularity with his original power trio Lemongelli, who released three independent records and shared the stage with Heart, Cheap Trick, Def Leppard, and Eddie Money, to name a few.
Becoming one of the most sought-after live and session guitarists in NEPA, Douglas joined the legendary Pennsylvania rock band The Badlees, in which he recorded “Epiphones and Empty Rooms” and supported Bob Seger on his 2013 arena tour.
In 2014, Douglas released “Black Skies and Starlight,” his first solo record, to rave reviews. Self-proclaimed as “a mix of big guitars with pop-laced hooks and an alternative attitude,” “Black Skies and Starlight” propelled Dustin back into the lead role, leaving his sideman days behind.
The following year, he was ready to get back to his blues rock roots. The self-titled debut record from Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen sold out of its first pressing, garnering attention from fans and critics alike. Tracks such as “Baby Girl” and “Ain’t Your Poppa’s Blues” found Douglas right back where he belongs – leading a bombastic power trio.
Summer 2017 saw the release of “Blues 1,” a collection of classic blues covers, including cuts by John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Albert King, and Freddie King, as well as a new original song. With “Blues 1,” the band has cemented themselves in the blues world.
With a full-length album already in the works and set for release in 2018, Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen are taking the industry by storm.
Ed Randazzo is a much-celebrated, award-winning singer/songwriter from West Pittston.
September 2008 would ignite the collaborative music making friendship between Randazzo and one of Pennsylvania’s most important music fixtures – singer/songwriter and producer Bret Alexander (The Badlees, Breaking Benjamin). Together, Randazzo and Alexander have released three acclaimed full-length records, as well as a string of local radio singles, including 2012’s “Still Cry” and 2015’s “I Need a Woman.” They will soon mark their 10-year creative partnership in the fall of 2018.
Randazzo has shared the stage with international recording artists Spence Bohren, Alexis P. Suter, and Gabriel Gordon, along with a countless list of local greats, including MiZ, Dustin Douglas, Clarence Spady, Phyllis Hopkins, and Teddy Young. He’s also in demand at local venues throughout Pennsylvania, most notably the annual Briggs Farm Blues Festival both as a solo artist and with his trio outfit, Miner Blues.
In 2015, he won a Steamtown Music Award for Blues Act of the Year. His current projects include contributing music to the 2017 documentary film “Black Guides of Mammoth Cave” as well as preparing new material for his fourth studio effort.
Listen to Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen talk about blues music, the local music scene, and more in Episode 35 of the NEPA Scene Podcast:
